Pressing machine



. 9, 1941. J. F. RAYNOLDS PRESS ING MACHINE FiledDec. 1, 1937 5Sheets-Sheet 1 RIGHT HAND VALVE M,

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PRESS ING MACHINE Filed Dec. 1, 1937 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 IIIVZIZAOT'JOHNEE'AYN LDS A'r Toe/v5 34s Dec. 9, 1941.

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PRESSING MACHINE Filed Dec. 1, 1957 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 RIGHTND CONTROLM4LvE Fla. 8

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ArroeNEvs Patented Dec. 9, 1941 PRESSIN G MACHINE John F. Raynolds,Minneapolis, Minn., assignor to The Unipress Company, Inc., Minneapolis,Minn., a corporation of Minnesota Application December 1, 1937, SerialNo. 177,491

2 Claims.

This invention relates to pressing machines of the type used for thepressing of laundry, and has for an object the provision of a simpleefficient power actuating mechanism for closing and opening the press,in which the initial movement of the press to a predeterminedintermediate position is under the control of the operator, and thefinal closing movement is automatically carried out.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a mechanism forclosing the press, in which the initial closing movement is carried outrapidly, and in which the press thereafter completes the closingautomatically and develo s a relatively high pressure so as effectivelyto remove irregularities from the garment being pressed, and to dry itas rapidly as possible.

It is also an object of the invention to provide an actuating mechanismin which both hands of the operator are required to be on the controlsin order to close the press to a safe position.

A,further object of the invention is the provision of a release meansunder control of the operator whereby the opening of the press may beaccomplished at will, either at the press or from a point remote fromthe press.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a device to regulatethe speed of final opening of the press and to smoothly slow it to astop at its full open position, and one in which the rate of opening ofthe press will be constant at all room temperatures in which the pressmay be operated.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a mechanism wherebythe movable element of the press will follow down upon the matted pad ofthe buck as it is gradually compressed during usage without, however,substantially varying the pressure at which the movement of the pressceases, when in closed position, and without change in the originaladjustment.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a simple power-operatedpress wherein no energy will be required of the operator except therelatively small amount necessary to operate the controls.

Other objects of the invention will be apparent from the descriptionhereinafter given of the novel features and combinations of parts whichconstitute the press mechanism.

In the description hereinafter given reference is had to theaccompanying drawings in which like characters represent correspondingparts in 2311- views.

Figure 1 is a side elevation partly in section of the press.

Figure 2 is-a front elevation partly in section.

Figure 3 is an enlarged section of a portion of the base of the machinealong the lines 3-3 of Figure 2 except that it shows the parts as theywould appear when the press is in closed or operated condition.

Figure 4 is a sectional view similar to that shown in Figure 3 alsoalong the lines 33 of Figure 2, except that the power cylinder mechanismhas been eliminated for the purposes of simplification. This figureshows the press in its closed position, but with the release mechanismoperated and parts as they would appear when the press is about toclose.

Figure 5 is a schematic view partly in section of the manuallycontrolled valve mechanism together with some of the connectingpipeways. It is to be noted that when Figures 1 and 5 are viewedtogether the complete air-flow movements of the press can be traced.

Figure 6 is a detail partly in section along the lines 66 of Figure 2and shows the air regulator mechanism of the buffer cylinder.

Figure 7 is an enlarged detail partly in section of the manuallycontrolled valve mechanism.

Figure 8 is a kinematic diagram showing the position of the presser armand head for six equal increments of movement of the operating cylinder.

The invention comprises a main frame generally designated by the numeralI, which is composed of an upright channel member 2 open at the rearside so as to form an easily accessible compartment 3 in which thevarious parts of the actuating mechanism are mounted. The frame 2 ismounted upon bed plate 4 which may be attached to the floor by means ofscrews 5, if desired. The upper part of the frame carries a pedestal 6which is attached to top plate I by means of bolts 8. A shaped pressingbuck 9 which is heavily padded by means of cotton or other material isfastened to the pedestal. If desired the buck may be of the constructionas shown in my Patent 1,966,645, issued July 17, 1934.

The main frame also has an upwardly and rearwardly extending portion l0upon which pressing arm H is pivoted at point (2. The upper end ofpressing arm ll carries a pressing head which may be heated in anydesired manner, as for instance by means of steam under pressure or byan electric heating element. The

lower end of pressing arm II is pivotally attached to link I3 by meansof through bolt I4.

The primary actuating mechanism of the press is power cylinder I5 whichis pivotally mounted on the base by means .of bracket I8. Pin I1 ispreferably of hardened material so as to withstand the heavy pressuresdeveloped in the pressing operation.

As shown in Figure 2 piston rod I9 and plunger I8 are arranged in powercylinder I5. At the upper end of the rod I9 is mounted a fork-shapedmember 28, which carries a through pin 2I, upon which roller 22 ismounted. The outer ends of the pin 2I serve to pivotally connect thepiston rod to the forked lower end 23 of link I3, the upper end of whichis pivoted at to the lower end of the pressing arm II.

On the inside of the frame is mounted an irregular shaped slot 24 inwhich roller 22 operates. The slot is formed integrally with plate 25 bywhich it is fastened to the inside front portion of frame 2. The slot isformed in two straight sections 28-26 and 21-21 which are formedintegrally with plate 25. The portion 26-26 which form the uppersections of the slot are connected by curved'portion 28 and the sections21--21 of the lower section are connected by. a circumferential frameportion 28. This portion is shown in section in Figure 2. Thecircumferential frame 29 has a central opening of size sumcient to allowthe piston rod I9 to move freely,

while the roller 22 follows the irregular path defined byslot surfaces26 and 21.

At the right end of pin 2I as shown in Figure 2 there is mounted adepending cam surfaced rod 30 which is freely pivoted. Theleft-handsurface 3| of this rod (as shown in'Figure 1) is perfectly straight andrides against roller 32 which 'is mounted upon a bracket 33 on pivotedarm 34. The purpose of this roller and pivoted arm will be explainedsubsequently. The right-hand survalves designated generally as 53, 54and 65. The work table has a rear flange 58 which rests against bracketI0. The various operating controls are connected to each other and tothe operating cylinders by means of tubular connections 51, 58 and 58,as shown in Figures 1, 2, 3 and 4. a

The operating controls whichare under the manual control of the operatorand consist of a right-hand control button 60 which actuates right-handcontrol valve 54, left-hand control button 6| which actuates left-handcontrol valve 55 and release button 62 which actuates release valve 53.The control valve 53, 54 and 55, and the various tubular connectionsfrom these valves to the air supply line, automatic pressure maintainingvalve 38, actuating cylinder I5 and release -cylinder 63 are shown inFigures 1 and 5, considered together.

The right-hand control valve, left-hand control valve and release valvesare shown enlarged in Figure 7. The left-hand control valve which isgenerally designated 55, comprises a casing 64 having an upper chamber65 and an antrum chamber 66 which is connected to the upper chamber 85by valve port 61 which is normally closed by valve 68. The valvev itselfcomprises an enlarged head 69 and a lower bulky stem portion face of rod30 (as shown in Figure 1) contains cam portion 35 and 'two displaced butparallel surfaces 36 and 31. These surfaces cooperate with roller 38 andserve to operate the automatic valve shown generally at 39. In oneoperating position as shown in Figure 1 of the drawings, rod 30 islowered so that surface 36 is opposite roller 38. When this occursspring I I I moves lever 83 in a counterclockwise direction and movesthe valves into the position shown in Figures 1 and 4. In Figure 3 therod 38 i in its upper position as it would be with the press closed. Inthis position roller 38 has ridden up upon surface 31, and has movedvalve 39 in its second operating posi- To the left of operating cylinderI5 as shown in Figure 2 there is mounted a buffer cylinder 40 -thepiston rod 4| of which is connected at its upper end'to pin 42 on linkI3. The lower end of buffer cylinder 48 is pivotally mounted on bracket43 and pin 44 so as to permit the cylinder to oscillate during theoperation of the press.

As shown in Figure 6 the buffer comprises a cylinder head 45 which isassembled to the barrel 10 which is connected to the valve head by meansof a stem portion H of reduced diameter. Valve spring 12 which restsagainst casing 64 maintains pressure on the valve through collar 13 andits p n.

When the valve is in the position shown in Figures 3, 5 and 7, the lowerbulky stem portion 10 uncovers port I03 which communicates with exhaustmuiller I08, which may be of any type desired.

The upper valve chamber 65 of left-hand control valve communicates withchambers 11 ofright-hand valve 54 by way of tubular connection 51. Theantrum chamber 66 communicates with automatic pressure maintaining valve33 by way of tubular connection 58.

The right-hand control valve and the release valve which are generallydesignated as 54 and 63 respectively are, for convenience, built as oneunitary structure. Each is similar to the lefthand control valve and thedetailed structure therefore need not be described. The right-handcontrol valve 54 and the release valve have a common air supply chamber15 which is fed by main air supply line 16. The valve stem 18 of theright-hand valve is similar to valve stem 10 of valve and serves as avalve to open and close exhaust port 83, for a purpose to be describedpresently.

The release valve is similar to the right-hand control valve andcontains antrum chamber 84 to which air under pressure is admitted whenvalve 85 is lifted. When this occurs, air passes from upper chamber 15through the valve port and into port 86 which communicates with therelease cylinder by means of tubular connection 99 on arm 94, serves asa back stop upon which cam arm 99 rides when the press is operated.

The casing of automatic valve 39 is similar to the double valve casingwhich serves for the right-hand control valve 94 and release valve 93,and contains two valve stems 9| and 92 which are similar to thosepreviously described with reference to the left and right-hand controlchambers and the release valve. The valve stems are operated by an arm99 which is pivoted about point 94 and biased to the position shown inFigure 1 by the spring III which is suiilciently strong to overcomespring H2 and thus depress valve 9|. Arm 99 carries a roller 99 at itsoutward end which bears upon the parallel surfaces 99 and 91 of the camarm 90. Ann 93 has an integrally formed cross-piece 99' upon which aremounted adjusting screws 99 and 99 which serve respectively to operatevalve stems 9I and 92 against their tension springs. These screws arepreferably adjusted so as to allow both valves to be closed for a shortinterval as arm 93 is moved from one position to the other. The purposeof this adjustment will be explained later.

It will be noted that the casing of valve 39 has four separate chambers91, 99, 99 and I00. Chambers 91 and 99 are separated from each other bywall IOI, whereas chambers 91 and I communicate with each other by meansof passageway I02. Chamber 99 connects with the air supply line I03 andcontains air which is constantly under pressure.

Valve 99 has two operating positions, shown in Figures 3 and 4,respectively. As shown in Figure 3, valve 92 is raised from its valveseat so as to permit air under pressure to pass from chamber 99 throughthe valve port to chamber I09 and thence through passageway chamber 91.When in the position shown in Figure 4, valve 92 is seated and valve 9|is raised, in which case chamber 91 communicates with chamber 99.Chamber 99 in turn communicates with the antrum chamber 99 of theleft-hand control valve by way of tubular connection 98, and chamber 91communicates with pressure cylinder I9 by way of tubular connection I04,see Figures 1, 3, and 4.

As shown in Figures 1 and 2 the press is provided with a spring I09which at its upper end is connected with link I9 and its lower end isconnected to eye bolt I01 mounted in the base of the machine? Thisspring serves to open the press when the application of air pressure tocylinder I9 is released.

Figure 8 is a kinematic diagram which shows the manner in which thepresser head responds for equal increments of movement of the pistoncross-head roller 22 along slot 24. It will be seen that the incrementsof movement of the presser head corresponding with increments ab, bc andc-cl are relatively large, but that after roller 22 passes the hump inslot 24' and enters upon the 29-29 section, the increments of movementof the presser head are much reduced.

Stated another way, during the early part of its travel, the movement ofplunger I9 of pressure cylinder l9 produces a relatively direct effectupompivoted arm II with the result that the pressing head approaches thebuck 9 at a relatively high rate of speed. As the press appreaches theclosed position shown by dotted lines in Figure 1, roller 22 will enterthe upper part 29-29 of the slot 24 and in this position the componentof motion of pin I4 to the right (as shown in Figure 1) to close thepress, will be relatively small. While'the movement at this time iscomparatively slow, the pressure developed is exceedingly heavy, so thata garment being pressed will be eflectively free from wrinkles andrapidly dried.

The pads on buck 9 are usually made of col:- ton and steel wool and thecotton is replaced weekly. When fresh the pad is thick and relativelycompressible, but as the press is used, the pad takes a permanent setand is reduced in thickness. No adjustment of the presser head isnecessary in order to compensate for the varying limiting position ofthe buck pad during use, or for variations in thickness of the garmentbeing pressed because the relatively long upper portion 29-29 of slot 24permits a range of stopping positions for roller 22 which compensatesfor these variations. The press merely closes down until the pressuredeveloped on the buck balances the net effective force exerted by thepiston, as counteracted by the press opening springs.

It is to be noted that while spring I09 oil'ers increasing resistance tothe upward travel of roller 22 when ironing, in the upper part 29 ofslot 24, at the same time the angle of the surface of slot 29 withreference to link I9 aflords increasing mechanical advantage forsuccessive increments of upward movement of the roller, thus tending tomaintain approximately uniform ironing pressure between presser head andthe stationary buck 9.

In Figure 5 there is shown an exhaust mufller I09 which communicateswith port I09 of lefthand control valve 99. This muiller may be of anyapproved type such as a casing filled with steel wool. Its purpose is toreduce the hissing sound of the exhaust air from cylinder I9 during theoperation of the machine. A second muffler may be provided at port 93 ofright-hand valve 94, if desired, but this muiller would be used onlyoccasionally, as hereinafter explained.

Operation In the openposition of the press, shown in Figure 1, thepressing arm and pressing head II are shown in the full line positions,and piston I9 is at its lowermost position in cylinder I9. In order toinitiate closing the press, the operator actuates buttons and 9|simultaneously (as shown in Figure 2). When this occurs valve stems 19and 14 of right and left-hand valves 94 and 99, respectively, are movedto their open position. This is accomplished by means of levers IIO oneach valve which communicate the movement of the operating buttons totheir corresponding valve stems. When the valve stems 14 and 19 aremoved to their open positions air under pressure is admitted from theair supply line 19 (see Figures 1 and 5) to chamber 19 of right-handcontrol valve 94 and thence through the opening provided by actuatedvalve 19 to antrum 11. It will be noted that the movement of valve 19 tothe open position closes port 99, thus blocking the escape of air atthis point. Air under pressure is thereby delivered to tubularconnection 91 and thence to chamber 99 of left-hand control valve 99.Since valve stem 14 has also been moved to the open position air underpressure will accordingly be delivered to antrum chamber, and thence byway of tubular connection 99 to chamber 99 of automatic pressuremaintaining valve 99. This valve is in the position shown in Figure 1,that is to say, roller 99 is opposite cam surface 99. In this positlonspring I I I overcomes valve spring I I2 and opens the valve betweenchambers 98 and 91 with the result that air under pressure is deliveredto tubular connection I04 which communicates directly with cylinder I5.Piston I8 is accordingly driven upwardly and the press is closed. As thepress nears the closed position cam surface 35 on cam arm 30 will comeadjacent roller 38 and force the roller into the position shown inFigure 3. When this occurs valve 92 will be moved to the open positionand valve 9I closed. Air under pressure will accordingly be delivereddirectly from supply line I 03 through chamber 99 to chamber I andthence by way of communicating passage I02 to chamber 91 from which ittravels directly to power cylinder I5 by way of tubular connection I04.The press accordingly continues to close of its own accord.

Since the movement of arm 93 in raising valve 92 from its valve seatsimultaneously lowers valve 9| into engagement with its valve seat, thepassageway between chambers 98 and 91 is broken off. This closure servesto interrupt the flow of air by way of operator control valves 54 and55, and the operator may accordingly remove pressure from buttons 60 and6|. Set screws 95 and 96 are preferably adjusted so that there will be avery short period during which both valves 9i and 92 are closed. Thisinterrupts the air supply from the operated push-buttons, as well as thedirect supply by way of valve 92. However, this occurs while the pressis closing and since the press coasts during this very shortinterruption in air supply, the effect is merely to check the motionslightly. This is desirable since the motion must be slowed down duringthe final closing operation.

As the roller 22 reaches the bend in slot 24, a

relatively long increment of movement of the piston and roller 22 willbe required for a given movement of pressing arm II with the result thata relatively heavy pressure is developed as the press closes. When thepad on buck 9 is fresh and thick as it is when just replaced, the presswill be closed and the pressure developed soon after roller 22 haspassed the bend in slot 24. The limiting position of roller 22, for agiven thickness of pad and work, is determined by the pressure developedon the pad, the air pressure applied to the cylinder, and the force oftension spring I06. As the pad on buck 9 is compressed during usage thelimiting position of the presser head will gradually become lower andlower, with the result that roller 22 will come to rest at grade uallyhigher positions along section 2626 of slot 24. Since increments ofupward movement of roller 22 throughout the upper portion 26-26 of slot24 are relatively small and substantially constant for equal incrementmovements of the pressing head, a substantially uniform pressure will bedeveloped on the buck, whether it is fresh and thick or matted down, asafter continued use.

The press will remain in closed position with air applied to cylinder I5by way of automatic control valve 39 (see Figure 3) until the auto- Thisis accommatic supply is interrupted. plished by the use of a releasemechanism which comprises release cylinder 63 and piston 88,

which serve to move lever arm 34 about pivot point 90. As previouslyexplained, lever 34 carries roller 32 on bracket 33 and in the positionshown in Figure 3, serves to hold cam arm 30 in such a position that camsurface 31 will be effective to operate upon roller 38 and valve,

operating arm 93. When the operator wishes to release the press,pressure is applied to button 62 which serves to operate the valve stemII3 of release valve 53. This serves to open the passageway betweenchamber 15 and antrum 04 which communicates with release cylinder 63 byway of tubular connection 59. Air under pressure is accordingly admittedto the release cyl inder and piston. H4 is moved to the right as shownin Figure 4. The lever arm 34 is accordingly moved from the dotted lineposition (see Figure 4) to the full line position and in so doingpermits cam arm 30 also to move outof contact with the roller 38 onvalve operating arm 93. The spring III (Figure 1) then moves the leverarm 93 to the full line position shown in Figures 1 and 4, therebyclosing valve 92 and opening valve 9|. This serves to interrupt thesupply of air under pressure which had previously been applied throughthe automatic valve to pressure cylinder I6 and opens a communicatingpassage from the pressure cylinder by way of tubular connection I04 tochamber 91, chamber 98 by way of tubular connection 58 to antrum 66 ofleft-hand control valve 55. Assuming this valve to be closed, valve stemI4 is in a position to uncover port I09 which communicates with theexhaust muiller I08 (shown in Figures 5 and 7). The action of springsI06 upon link I3 of the press tends to open the press and to drivepiston I8 downwardly in cylinder I5. This forces the air from thecylinder by way of the circuit just traced through the exhaust mufilerI08 to atmosphere, and the press accordingly opens.

During the time release button 62 is depressed, air under pressure isdelivered to cylinder 63, and a small amount bleeds through vent H5.When the air supply is interrupted by the release of button 62, springII6 within cylinder 63 returns piston II4, piston rod 88, arm 34 androller 32 to the position shown in Figure 3.

As the press moves to open position, piston II! of the bufier cylinderis driven downwardly in buffer cylinder 46. This serves slightly tocompress the air which is in the cylinder and to drive it through themetering orifice 49 in the cylinder head. The needle valve 50 of thisorifice is adjusted so as to check the escape of air and thereby checkthe descent of piston III in cylinder 46. This serves totime the openingof the press and to cushion the movement of the press as it reaches itsfinal open position. Since the viscosity of the air in buffer cylinder46 is constant through the range of operating temperatures of the press,the cushioning effect and the timing" of the press will remainsubstantially constant. I

If it is assumed that the operator depresses the left-hand controlbutton and releases only the right-hand control button, the press willnevertheless open because the exhaust air from cylinder I5 willaccordingly be directed through antrum chamber 66 of valve 55 to chamber65 and thence by way of tubular connection 51 to antrum T! of valve 54.Since it is assumed that valve stem I8 of the right-hand valve is in theclosed position, air will be exhausted to atmosphere by way of exhaustport 83, which is opened under these conditions. If desired, an exhaustmufller may also be provided for port 83.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a pressing machine, cooperating'stationary pressing element meansand movable pressmoving said movable element means when power 'nected toside plates to form a vertical hollow is applied thereto, resilientmeans for normally holding the movable element means away from saidstationary element means, manual means for controlling the applicationof fluid pressure to said fluid pressure motor means, and automaticmeans for applying fluid pressure to said motor means regardless of theoperation of said manual means, including a valve having a movableoperating element, a cam-shaped pendulum mounted on said movablepressing element means, positioning means for holding said camshapedpendulum against the movable operating element of said valve foroperation of said valve by the cam as the pressing machine is closed,and means for withdrawing said positioning means to a position such thatthe cam does not operate said valve.

2. A pressing machine having a central supporting column consisting of afront plate con- 20 space therein, a stationary pressing head mountedthereon, backwardly and upwardly extending arms on said side plates, apresser arm pivotally mounted between the extending arms,

a presser head mounted on said am for cooper-' ative movement into andout of engagement with said stationary pressing head, and means formoving said arm comprising a cam plate mounted within the verticalhollow space of said supporting column, a link pivotally connected tosaid presser arm, a roller pivotally mounted on the other end of saidlink and mounted for movement in said cam slot, and piston means formoving the roller. to and fro in said slot, said piston means beingpivoted to the base of the

